Looking through the list of Cinderella stories on fairytalez.com, reading the summary for Little Saddleslut was quite astonishing considering the cannibalism within the first few sentences of the story. It was hard not to click on the link and continue reading the story. One obvious difference is the cannibalism at the beginning of the story. The sisters decide to eat the mother after declaring to kill the person whose spindle falls. The younger sister unsuccessfully pleaded her two older sisters to kill her instead. The two older sisters cooked her up and ate her while the younger sister refused to eat. The death of the mother is still significant in both versions of the story as it is the point where “Cinderella” (or the younger sister in this case) becomes the outcast of the sisters, the one made fun of. Similarly, it is the mother’s grave that plays a pivotal role in the story as her constant visits to the grave is rewarded with beautiful clothing. In Little Saddleslut, church becomes the big occasion rather than a ball and the brilliance of her clothes hide her identity. Much like the Grimm version of Cinderella, the younger sister runs away leaving her shoe behind which the prince uses to find her. However, in Little Saddleslut, the sisters encourage the younger sister to go try on the shoe which she takes as her sisters making fun of her. And when the shoe fits her, she takes the prince’s proposal to be a joke. The story takes a completely different turn at this point. Little Saddleslut skips the wedding the sisters get rid of the younger sister by putting her in a chest and throwing it in a river. The younger sister is taken care of by God and is eventually found by the prince. The sisters are cut up into pieces (wow this fairy tale is graphic) for their crimes once the prince and younger sister return to the town. Much like the Grimm version, the sisters are punished for their treatment of their little sister, in rather violent ways, and the younger sister lives happily ever after with her prince. The element of mysticism in the younger sister’s favor in both of these stories plays to the theme that the good will prevail and the evil will be punished.
- Lilian